Crab-less Hearts of Palm Crab Cakes

These gluten-free, fat-free vegan crab-less cakes use hearts of palm, creole seasoning, and sweet corn for a Southern flavor. This is a delicious, healthy recipe for dinner but they also make entertaining appetizers.

Procedure

To flavor cakes: Finely dice the onion and bell peppers. Combine in a large pan with the creole seasoning and a couple tablespoons of water. Cover and let sweat over medium heat. Sweat until peppers are soft and spices are very aromatic. Remove and let cool. Drain off any excess liquid. You can use this to flavor mustard, ketchup, or vegan mayo for a dressing, like Creole Mustard

To make and bake cakes: Drain and rinse hearts of palm. Roughly chop (or use your fingers to shred) the hearts of palm. You want it to resemble crab, so keep the "strands" intact and some larger chunks. Add the corn to the peppers onion mixture. Puree the corn, bell pepper, onion mixture. Leave just a little texture. Combine pureed mixture with hearts of palm, Dijon mustard, 1/4 cup corn meal, and parsley. Mix well and taste to adjust seasoning. Spread a couple of tablespoons of corn meal onto a baking sheet. This will help prevent any sticking and give a little "crunch" to the cakes. Use your hands to shape about 1/4 cup of the mix into a patty. Compact well and place on corn meal. Repeat until all of the hearts of palm mix is used up, making about 8 crab cakes. Bake at 350F 30-45 minutes, until lightly browned and hold together well.

This spicy Mexican sauce uses dried Pasilla peppers, but you can experiment with any dried chilies for different levels of heat, sweetness, and smokiness. Make a batch of this healthy, oil-free, fat-free recipe for unique flavor. This goes great with Easy Black Bean Cakes, Portabella Tacos, or a Quinoa Fiesta Bowl.

How do you pick the best tomatoes? Remember that it's a fruit! Plant-based Chef Katie Simmons shares her tips for picking any fruit. Get more healthy vegetarian shopping tips and recipes at: www.plants-rule.com

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Plants-Rule (TM), Copyright 2014 by Katie Simmons. All photos, recipes, videos, and articles are property of Chef Katie Simmons unless otherwise cited. All rights reserved. Please seek the advice of a medical professional before making dietary changes.